SDSU's King played with heart, now he's coaching with heart

Unable to play because of an undiagnosed heart condition, Preston King has become an Aztecs student assistant — coaching the freshmen and scout team wide receivers. “It’s frustrating. But maybe some positives are coming out of it,” he said.
— Sean M. Haffey

Unable to play because of an undiagnosed heart condition, Preston King has become an Aztecs student assistant — coaching the freshmen and scout team wide receivers. “It’s frustrating. But maybe some positives are coming out of it,” he said.
— Sean M. Haffey

“It’s very unsettling to wake up each day and not know what’s wrong with you,” said the San Diego State sophomore.

When the wide receiver ran with the football, all 5-feet-10, 170 pounds of him, he ran with the swagger of a 240-pound fullback. He had heart.

“I never passed the ‘eye’ test,” King said. “My best attributes were not size or strength, but knowledge of the game and instincts.”

Now it’s his heart that’s preventing King from doing the thing he loves most. After earning significant playing time last year, King is spending this season — and possibly the rest of his days at San Diego State — watching from the sidelines with an undiagnosed heart condition.

He is keeping his scholarship and working as a student assistant — coaching the freshmen and scout team wide receivers. But he feels cheated. His playing career wasn’t supposed to end like this.

“I was very set on what I wanted to do in life,” said the 19-year old from Orange County. “I was set that I wanted to be a football player. I wanted to go against the odds and make it to the NFL and I wasn’t going to look back until I got there.

“Once this door closed, it was hard for me. I went through some stages of depression. I questioned what I was going to do. I’ve worked my whole life for this. What else is out there for me?”

As a freshman, King did a little bit of everything. He played receiver, returned kickoffs and punts. He even played a little quarterback when the Aztecs went into a wildcat formation. His athleticism made him one of SDSU’s most versatile players. At Tesoro High, he was named the Orange County Defensive Player of the Year as a cornerback.

King grew up a USC fan. Went to every game. Sported the colors. His family held season tickets for 45 years. But they gave them up when King passed on a “preferred walk-on” offer from USC and opted for San Diego State.

“He broke my heart,” joked his mother Erin, a Trojans alumna. “But he wanted to play and he wanted to make a difference. He wanted to help them turn things around.

“No 19-year-old kid, whether they are an athlete or a student, should have to go through this. He’s so passionate about football. It’s been his life. For him to have to give that up, it was very tough. It was not a pleasant summer, let’s put it that way.”

The signs started well before the summer. In an offseason conditioning workout in January, King started to feel dizzy. He said his chest was throbbing “at 1,000 miles per hour.” He stood up and tried to regain his focus, but couldn’t hear anything around him. The world was spinning out of control. Then he fainted.

He awoke just in time to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was tested, monitored and given a wide range of explanations, but nothing solid.

A second fainting spell came three months later — this time after simply waking up and eating breakfast. He’s been to specialists and had exploratory surgeries. Angiograms and cardiac MRIs. Still, no answers.

A leading theory is Supraventricular tachycardia, a rhythm disorder that occurs in the upper chambers of the heart. His symptoms are consistent with the condition. But doctors can’t be sure.

Following a cardiac MRI, another theory that evolved was that part of his thymus gland was pressing against a heart valve, causing the irregular palpitations. Fixing that would involve open heart surgery. Again, they couldn’t be 100 percent sure.

“Basically, what a lot of the doctors were saying was ‘if this was my son, I’d hang up the cleats and start the next phase of your life,’ ” King said.

Then came the meeting. In mid-August, King and his parents met with head coach Brady Hoke and came to the decision King would not play football.

“He welcomed us with a big hug and there were a lot of tears,” Erin King said. “It was very emotional for us. He said the most important thing is health, education and then football. That’s when he asked Preston if he had any aspirations of being a coach because they’d love to have him on the staff. I think that picked his head up a bit.”

More than a bit. It’s been King’s saving grace. It’s allowed him to stay close to the team and exercise those instincts that made him a scholarship athlete.

“That’s somebody’s son,” Hoke said. “I can tell you, having a daughter, you always put your parent hat on. It’s something that was hard and difficult because you can only imagine what they are going through. In the best interest of everything, it was the right decision.”

Now King sees the world through different eyes. He cherishes the time he had on the field and embraces the chance to pass his knowledge on to those younger. He’s a role model to his younger twin brothers — Cameron and Braden, age 13 — a couple of good young athletes. He tells them to play every game like it’s their last. It might be. He knows.

“We’ll watch the (away) games on TV and I almost have to leave the room because I can see him champing at the bit,” said his father, Dave King. “I think he understands how precious life is. But he misses being part of the team and the guys and the travel. He misses it all.”

King hasn’t completely closed the door on playing. If his condition is properly diagnosed and can be treated — and if he’s able to play to his full capability — King said he’ll be back.

“Right now, it’s 100 percent wishful thinking because there is such an unknown,” he said. “We’ve got a long time until next season.

“This situation has brought me closer to God. It’s brought me closer to my family and my coaches and all of the coaches I’ve had in the past. It’s frustrating. But maybe some positives are coming out of it.”

Said Dave King: “I think this has helped him grow up a little bit. If he can come back, we’ll support him. But maybe he’ll really discover a passion for coaching. This is just another step in life.”